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A Different Breed

While most of the cattle on our ranch are Angus, there’s one herd—it belongs to my brother-in-law Tim—that’s a little set apart. They’re Hereford cattle, the breed of cattle you see above. I absolutely love Herefords. They’re so distinctively “cattle” in appearance…almost vintage looking.

It’s how I always imagine a cow should look.

A few years ago, my brother-in-law Tim bought a herd of Hereford heifers (say that really fast eighteen times) and bred them to the strange and wonderful looking animal you see above—a Brahman bull, which he bought from J.D. Hudgins, a top breeder of Brahmans in the United States.

I should restate that: Tim bought several Brahman bulls. If he hadn’t, the bull you see in this photo would have been so happy, it would have been illegal.

No, there are other Brahman bulls. It would be too large a job for any one bull to breed all of the Herefords in the herd.

“As much as I’d love the adventure, I just can’t do this all by myself.”

It’s nice to find a Brahman bull that recognizes its own limitations, especially in the realm of hanky panky.

So refreshing!

The decision to breed Braham bulls to Hereford cows is a curious one, but Tim does have a specific goal in mind.

That goal is to produce F1 Tigerstripe heifers, which will eventually make for a good, solid cow herd.

Here’s why this cross makes for a good cow herd:

Brahmans are known to handle warmer climates better than most other breeds. Breeding a Brahman bull to a Hereford heifer will result in a heifer calf (which will grow to be a cow) that’ll be more heat-tolerant. This is helpful in southern states like Louisiana and Texas, where summers can be stifling. So while Tim will hold onto some of the heifer calves and make them into his own cow herd (the steer calves will be raised for beef), he’ll also be able to sell them to ranchers in the southern states, since F1 Tigerstripe cows can handle—and actually thrive in—these warm environments. This, of course, means they’ll have a better breed-back rate and a longer breeding life than many other breeds.

Amen.

Another little Brahman trivia: as a breed, they’re known to be a little on the wild side, which explains why the calves of these bulls took off running in different directions yesterday. Little buttheads.

Thought you’d like to enter 2011 with a tiny bit more agricultural knowledge than you had before.

Comments

Those Brahma’s are scary business! But I love the tiger stripe 🙂 Thanks for the aggie tutorial 😀

http://www.chickenblog.com Natalie V2

Holy Cow, Ree! They are ginormous.
Well, even to the last day of the year, you have brought me something new and fascinating, so, now I go forth wiser and happier. Looking forward to another year sharing in your adventures and reflections. Happy New Year, and watch your boots around those ginormous breeders!

Steph

Ok, then…..Happy New Year to you – thanks for all the postings. Love living vicariously through you (well actually, MM and the kids – when it comes to cattle…).
More of Mike in 2011…!!!!!

http://www.kitchenandnature.tumblr.com Courtney

We have them on our farm! We love them… great for Alabama weather. BUT with the recent snow event in the South.. needless to say they were not too happy with that climate event!

http://treasuringitup.blogspot.com Hannah @ Treasuring It Up

Whoa, I was second! And I should also add, maybe I need a little Brahma in me since the Okie heat about kills me each summer.

http://noreenhunter.blogspot.com noreen

uhm, I have a little nosebleed on the different breeds of cows…I have no clue about them..all i know is Angus because I always see them on labels on the beef that we get at the store!!!

I don’t know if my brain can handle all that cattle information. I never thought I would be reading about this on New Year’s Eve:) Happy New Year! susan

http://betchanfamily.blogspot.com/ lauren

Brahma’s are gorgeous. I have the skull of one my Aunt had for +20 years. His name was Chief and he was THE bull in her herd.
Such a distinctive and beautiful animal.
He and all of his offspring thrived in the Central TX Hill Country heat.

Happy New Year Ree 🙂

Esther

Happy New Year greetings from the Netherlands, Ree! You are so lucky to live on the ranch, I enjoy reading your stories every day!

DebbieL

Fascinating! Aren’t Brahmans also the type used in rodeo bull riding competitions?

http://onawingaprayerasigh.blogspot.com Rickey Rudy

I had never heard of the tigerstripe! I love learning new things!

Have a wonderful day and a Wonderful New Year!

Linda

Sure is an ugly bull.

http://ninjawifery.blogspot.com Annie

Wow. So I’m pretty much a dork, but that is really cool. My dad and I like to put little tidbits of information like this away in the back of our heads to pull out randomly. We call them facts to delight and amaze your friends! I feel all educated now. Oh, and yes, I was homeschooled.

http://www.theinteriorevolution.com Rachelh

Man, was this post like a trip down memory lane! My grandfather had a heard of Charolais cows in Tennessee, which I would help him herd from one pasture to another when I spent the summer there each year. One year, either in the late 70’s or early 80’s, we went to the farm and I saw the biggest, craziest looking bull in the paddock I had ever seen. Sure enough, it was a Brahman. I remember the calves were HUGE the next year.

Thanks for the post! Hadn’t remembered that story for years.

http://www.soggypantry.com elysia

Never thought I’d be interested in the guts of agriculture but here I am! Love the colors in the pictures.

Jennifer in Manhattan

I grew up in Kansas City, and my late dad, an opera singer, used to sing the National Anthem from the back of a Brahman bull every fourth of July for the rodeo. The bull would kneel during the song, and my dad always kept his cool and just kept singing. Thanks for sparking this memory!

Patricia Knapp

What a wonderful surprise to find the mention of the JD Hudgins and to know that one of their bulls is at home with you!! My ex-husband is the great-grandson of J D Hudgins. The entire company and family are exceptional!! My children were raised on the ranch and my son still lives on the ranch in Hungerford. What a treat to see that somehow I am remotely connected with you!!

Elizabeth

Absoutly Facinating! I love the bit of knowledge I just gained, probably the last of it for 2010 to be honest. Hopefully I can impress my boss someday with my knowledge of cattle, since I work on a Feedyard!

Laurie C

They definitely make for interesting looking offspring.

http://www.thegreenhousediaries.blogspot.com Tamara

Happy New Year! May it be filled with family and cattle farming, blogging and cooking !!

Becky B

I don’t usually do resolutions, but this year I think I’ll resolve to survive an unexpected pregnancy that’s kicking my butt!

http://www.chroniclesofacountrygirl.blogspot.com Kate

I love the info. Having lived on horse breeding farms all of my adult life, I appreciate it. Not sure whether or not they’re bred A.I., which would make an interesting post. Well, to me anyway!